Background: Families in rural areas face a high risk of having stunted toddlers, often exacerbated by household food insecurity (HFI), which prevents adequate nutritional intake. This study aims to identify the fundamental principles of community nursing care to address food insecurity for family nutritional fulfillment and tackle specific and sensitive stunting issues in toddlers.
Methods: This two-year mixed-methods study will involve families with stunted toddlers in rural Indonesia. In the first year, qualitative exploration (in-depth interviews and focused group discussions (FGD)) to identify precipitating, supporting, and reinforcing factors of stunting, HFI, and household food resilience. Quantitative analysis will identify HFI (using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES-9)), dietary diversity (FAO 2013 24/48-hour and 7-day recall), and stunting parameters (length/height, weight via WHO Anthro plus Z-score). The findings the first year will guide the development of community nursing care principles. The second year will involve testing these principles through a quasi-experimental trial, integrating health promotion and family assessment theories through family-based, Posyandu, and Puskesmas interventions for growth monitoring. Data will be analyzed using paired t-test and independent t-tests.
Results: The research aim to establish basic principles of community nursing care for addressing HFI, dietary diversity, and improving family nutrition in stunted toddlers in rural areas, supported by health promotion and family assessment theories.
Conclusions: This study seeks to define specific and sensitive community nursing care principles for addressing HFI and ensuring nutritional fulfillment in stunted toddlers in rural settings, guided by health promotion and family assessment theory.